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Nabil Ayers is an American music industry entrepreneur, author and musician. Ayers' debut memoir, My Life in the Sunshine, was published by Viking Press on June 7, 2022. The book focuses on Ayers' relationship with his father, the jazz musician Roy Ayers, growing up as a mixed-race person in America, and Ayers' life in the music industry.
- Generations of Jewish Ancestors
- Culture More Than Color
- Musical Ambitions
- A Career of His Own
- A Jewish Wedding
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“Writing the book made me think about my identity and process it,” Ayers said. “I still don’t really identify as any race. There’s my mother who raised me and my father who was really just DNA, and there’s all the people who helped raise me. I felt like everybody contributed to my identity. How can I choose just one? And that absolutely includes th...
He grew up with a solid sense of self in diverse communities in Greenwich Village, Brooklyn, Boston and Amherst, Massachusetts. When his mother attended the University of Massachusetts, they lived in family housing with families of different races, multi-ethnic and multi-racial kids and single parents. Culture was emphasized more than color, he sai...
Ayers longed to play music from an early age. But as a biracial boy, he couldn’t fully identify with the appearances of white or Black stars like the Beatles and Stevie Wonder. Then, at age 5, he discovered the hard rock band Kiss. The heavy makeup they wore obscured their features, enabling him to imagine new possibilities. “I found something atta...
Music continued to shape his identity and career. As a drummer, Ayers performed in several bands including The Long Winters and Tommy Stinson. On his own record label, The Control Group/Valley of Search, Ayers has released music by Cate Le Bon, Lykke Li, The Killers, PJ Harvey, Patricia Brennan, and his uncle, jazz musician Alan Braufman. He co-fou...
While attending a colleague’s wedding, Ayers met a woman named AJ. “I thought maybe she was kind of Italian,” he said. He introduced himself and they began dating. He overheard her talking to a relative on the phone who asked if Nabil was Jewish. She responded that he wasn’t. When he later explained his Jewish background, she shared hers, deepening...
Nabil Ayers, son of jazz musician Roy Ayers and Jewish ballerina Louise Braufman, shares his story of identity, family and search for his father in his new book. He explores his diverse heritage, his musical career and his discovery of paternal half-siblings and an enslaved ancestor.
Jun 3, 2022 · Nabil Ayers, a musician and label owner, shares his story of reconnecting with his father, Roy Ayers, a vibraphone great, in his new book \"My Life in the Sunshine\". He recounts his first meeting with his father after decades of separation and their complex relationship.
Nabil Ayers has written about race and music for The New York Times, NPR, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone and GQ. His memoir My Life in the Sunshine was published on June 7, 2022 via Viking/Penguin. Ayers is the President of Beggars Group US, where he has run campaigns for The National, Big Thief, Grimes, Future Islands and St. Vincent, as well as ...
Jun 3, 2022 · Music exec Nabil Ayers, son of the "Everybody Loves the Sunshine" musician, shares the music and books that inspire him. By Alamin Yohannes. Published on June 3, 2022 05:38PM EDT. At 50,...
- Alamin Yohannes
- 8 min
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Jun 8, 2022 · Jun 8, 2022 10:30am PT. Soundtracking Memories: ‘My Life in the Sunshine’ Author Nabil Ayers Details the Music That Made Him (Guest Column) By Nabil Ayers. Courtesy of Penguin Random House....
My Life in the Sunshine — Nabil Ayers. June 7, 2022 / Viking ORDER. A memoir about one man's journey to connect with his musician father, ultimately redefining what family really means.
